Social Media and Africa's Youth

Just over a few years ago, the term "digital divide" was ubiquitous diagnosis for growth and development in poor countries--fast forward to 2011 and one would wonder whatever happened to all the hypes about digital divide?

It must be acknowledged that some progress have been made over the years. People in Africa are using social network such as Facebook, LinkeIn, Twitter and Skype to connect to the rest of the world like never before-- it is indeed refreshing for those of us living miles away from the continent to get such instant access thanks the power of the internet.

I strongly agree with people who think that the dotcom revolution is the best thing to happen to developing countries. Imagine students, workers and leaders from Africa sharing knowledge and information with the rest of the world in real time--I bet my college days would have been less stressful if I had such access to information.

Arab Spring has shown us that the internet has a leg of its own and that no one can stop it. Empowering citizens from poor countries (often saddled with authoritarian regimes) with such vital tool will clearly cut everyone's job out for them. The internet business in Africa and other developing countries must transition for its present awareness stage to critical mass stage. It is up to the world to make this happen.

You know what we say in Africa, when you walk alone, you walk fast but when you walk together, you walk far--lets share this revolution togther.

Leadership Africa Needs: Lagos Governor Example

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos has raised the bar for African leadership and in doing so succeeded to offer new hope for strategic thinking and carefully calibrated public agenda in Africa.

Lagos as we know it (actually used to)was a microcosm of whatever can go wrong in major African cities: saddled with high population density, filth, organized and petty crimes, and so on.

When Governor Babatunde took office in 2007, he decided to spend his political capital to change Lagos for the better. He started by fixing the broken window of the house by way of clamping down on illegal activities such as ad hoc markets that used to block streets and cause endless gridlock, setting up bus routes, forcing "kamikaze" motorcycle-taxi riders to wear helmets.

To mitigate the impact of his hash actions, he decided to harness the newly displaced youth by employing them as street sweepers and traffic cops--he did so to ensure his program sustains.

One may be quick to ask what is so special about all these, but mind you, none of these actions required big budget to implement--all what was needed was common sense and political will to push through unpopular agenda.

Governor Babatunde's example serves as blueprint for how African leaders should look ahead. No wonder he was rewarded by over 81% votes for his reelection. Congratulations Governor.

Oppression in the Name of Resisting Imperialism

Much as dependency syndrome and imperialsm have deep-rooted overture between the West and Africa, these concepts have unfortunately become buzzword for dictators
around the world to justify their atrocities toward their own people. Libya's Quadafi dilusional narrative for clinging to power has been that his people adore him and that the resistance has been formented by western imperialists who want to steal Libya's oil.

Mr. Gbagbo has also justified the unrest in Ivory Coast as an attempt by imperial France and the UN to interfere in their internal affairs--we all know he Gbagbo called for the unrest when he repeatedly failed to concede election defeat and honor the will of the Ivorian people.

What is alarming though is how fast this false narrative is gaining traction among the unsuspecting public. We should all understand that our universe has changed and for that matter what happens in Ivory Coast has a far-reaching implications in Ghana, France, USA if you will. Besides, the so-called imperialists are usually the ones who pick the bill when the dust settles.

Nigeria: Wake the Giant In You

Following this weekend election in Nigeria where the incumbent president, Mr. Jonathan was declared the winner, there are reports of pockets of violence in the Muslem-North, the stronghold of the opposition.

From all indications, the election has been characterized as free and fair by independent observers so it behooves the other candidates to concede and move on.

Nigeria is blessed with so much resources and potentials but unfortunately has been stifled by internal conflicts.

Africa is looking up to Nigeria to get it right this time round and claim its leadership spot on the continent. We are currently witnessing the consequences of prolonging this thing in Ivory Coast and we surely do not want a history repeat.

Elections come and go and for now the next election may sound like an eternity to the opposition but they will be surprised to see how time flies so fast--they can use this period to reinvent themselves and position themselves well for the next election.

One thing most African politicians fail to understand is that an opposition is a very strong pillar in a democracy. So to the opposition, in the interest of promoting democracy in Africa, learn from Ghana's example and accept your loss and let the will of the Nigerian people prevail. Congratulations, President Jonathan.

Life after Gbagbo in Ivory Coast

The news of the arrest of former Ivorian president, Gbagbo was greeted with a sign of relief. This guy who was a university professor and deemed to have known better ignored the wishes of his people and gambled with the precious lives of innocent Ivorians.

In the end, Mr. Gbagbo's gamble did not pay off but the sad part is that he has plunged his country into a precarius and volatile state demanding measured steps going forward.

So far Mr. Quattara (arguably responsible for some of the atrocities) has made all the right calls. I am glad he is shying away from witch-hunting and calling on all Ivorians to look forward. May God grant him wisdom to navigate this tough assignment.

War on the Middle Class

The Repuublican Party has initiated its calculated assault on the middle class all in the name of deficit financing. If they truly want to reduce deficit, why are they saying no to tax increase but yes to slashing of entitlement programs?

Contrary to what the republicans are misinforming us, evidence suggest that reigning in entitlement cost will do very little to reduce long term deficit yet there are compelling demand side argument to fund entitlement not to mention the humanitarian dimension.

The Republican supply side (reverse taxation) is flawed because it only works as best case scenario.

Democracy by the Sword

We should not misconstrue recent interventions in domestic affairs by the international community including the UN to restore the will of the people as isolated cases. These are well-thought through policy to send a message to tyrants that the game has changed and there is a new boss in town who takes no prisoners!

Global stakeholders have eventually learned that what happens in Ivory Coast eg. affects the national interest of the US--just imagine the UN leading a preemtive bombing campaign in Ivory Coast to avoid humanitarian crisis.

Notwithstanding all the conspiracy theories critics offer to discredit such actions, its power of signalling tyrants around the world that their days are numbered cannot be second-guessed.